LSU vs Texas: A Stampede Through History on the Gridiron
By: Tony Thomas
September 3, 2019
The LSU Tigers and the Texas Longhorns. Two storied programs with a rich tradition of excellence on the football field. The Tigers and Longhorns have met on the field for battle 17 times, with Texas holding a slight edge in the series with 9 wins, 7 losses, and 1 tie.
Texas ranks 3rd all-time with 909 wins, and has a .705 winning percentage, good for 7th all-time. LSU has 798 wins and a .652 winning percentage.
These two teams first met in 1896, in an era when the sport was in its infancy, with LSU winning 14-0. The forward pass hadn’t been developed yet, and protective gear such as pads or a helmet was non-existent.
The game has been played 9 times in Austin, and 6 times in Baton Rouge. They also played 1 time in New Orleans, and twice in Dallas. And, there have been 9 shutouts: 5 for the Tigers and 4 for the Longhorns.
One of those shutouts occurred in the 1963 Cotton Bowl. LSU (9-1-1), coached by Charles McClendon beat the Longhorns (9-0-1), coached by the legendary Darrell Royal, 13-0. LSU was led by HB Jerry Stovall, the runner-up in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1962. Stovall was an Consensus All-American for the Tigers. Texas was led by Guard-LB Johnny Treadwell, a Consensus All-American in his own right.
The Longhorns would go on to win the 1963 National Championship, their first of 2 titles in the 1960’s (the other was in 1968). Texas has won 4 National Championships in its storied history.
LSU and Texas would not meet again on a football field for another 40 years.
In 2003, they would once again battle it out in the Cotton Bowl, and this time Texas beat the Tigers 35-20. A year later, LSU would win its 2nd National Championship in school history.
This coming Saturday will mark the 10th time that these two football blue bloods will meet in Austin. This time it is a Top Ten matchup that is the hottest ticket in town. LSU is ranked #6 and Texas is ranked #10.
Texas is coming off a 45-14 victory over Louisiana Tech in week 1. Longhorn QB Sam Ehlinger threw for 276 yards and 4 TD’s and no interceptions. LSU is basking in a 55-3 demolishing of Georgia Southern. In the game, the Tigers debuted a new run-pass spread option offense, going with no huddle and using 4 wide receivers. LSU QB Joe Burrow threw for 253 yards and 5 touchdowns with no interceptions, all in the first half.
So, who will win? Will it be “Hook’em” Horns, or will it be Tiger Bait? Burnt orange or purple and gold? I can’t wait to find out.
Thank you for reading.
Material for this article sourced from: http://sportslogos.net; http://winsipedia.com; http://sports-reference.com;
